Italy's first black senator elected for far-right party

Italy's first black senator elected for far-right party

Posted March. 08, 2018 08:09,

Updated March. 08, 2018 08:09

Italy's first black senator elected for far-right party.
March. 08, 2018 08:09.
by Jung-Min Dong ditto@donga.com.
Italy has elected the first black senator in its history at the general election held on Sunday. Toni Iwobi (age 62), a Nigerian-born IT entrepreneur, ran for office as a candidate of the far-right League Party, which supports anti-immigration, in Bergamo, Northern Lombardy.

Iwobi, who immigrated to Italy in 1970 to study, used to be a municipal councilor under the League Party in Spirano in 1995. The newly elected senator, who has been the League Party’s spokesman and person-in-charge on migration and security since 2014, actively promoted the League Party’s policy to expel 600,000 illegal immigrants back to their home country by saying “Discrimination begins when there are no rules and the state. Illegality directly leads to violence.”

The far-left populism party Five Star Movement, which became the dominant party after the general election, and the far-right League Party, which came in first place in terms of political clout, started playing power games, arguing the need for an establishment of a government led by their party. The League party, with just the coalition of the right-sided parties, lacks 50 seats to establish a government and is planning to form a solidarity with the Five Star Movement or the Democratic Party.

Italy has elected the first black senator in its history at the general election held on Sunday. Toni Iwobi (age 62), a Nigerian-born IT entrepreneur, ran for office as a candidate of the far-right League Party, which supports anti-immigration, in Bergamo, Northern Lombardy.

Iwobi, who immigrated to Italy in 1970 to study, used to be a municipal councilor under the League Party in Spirano in 1995. The newly elected senator, who has been the League Party’s spokesman and person-in-charge on migration and security since 2014, actively promoted the League Party’s policy to expel 600,000 illegal immigrants back to their home country by saying “Discrimination begins when there are no rules and the state. Illegality directly leads to violence.”

The far-left populism party Five Star Movement, which became the dominant party after the general election, and the far-right League Party, which came in first place in terms of political clout, started playing power games, arguing the need for an establishment of a government led by their party. The League party, with just the coalition of the right-sided parties, lacks 50 seats to establish a government and is planning to form a solidarity with the Five Star Movement or the Democratic Party.